Cowboys special team gaffe allows Bengals to snap skid

ARLINGTON, Texas — The playoffs might be a far-fetched dream for the Cincinnati Bengals, but at least their losing streak is over after a 27-20 win over the Dallas Cowboys, whose special teams mistake late in the fourth quarter sealed it.

The Cowboys deflected a punt, but then touched the ball, which was recovered by the Bengals at their own 43 with 1:53 left. Three plays later, Joe Burrow hit Ja’Marr Chase for a game-winning 40-yard TD.

Cincinnati’s win against the Cowboys snapped a three-game skid for a squad that mathematically remains in playoff contention, even if the likelihood of that occurring is very slim.

It should have never been this difficult against a Cowboys team that didn’t have starting QB Dak Prescott, who is on injured reserve. But through 13 games, Cincinnati has proven it can’t take anything for granted.

The defense has been shaky too often this season and struggled against the run on Monday night. Dallas pressured Burrow all night as the hits piled up and forced him to put a compression sleeve on his left leg.

Given the circumstances amid a disappointing season, a win is nice. But the performance was a reminder that Cincinnati needs a lot of work in order to play meaningful games in December and January again.

QB breakdown: Cincinnati has reached the point of the season where Burrow needs to be almost perfect in order to beat sub-.500 teams. Burrow evaded pressure and made plays throughout the game. He put a sleeve on his left leg midway through the fourth quarter. He was 33 of 44 for 369 yards and three touchdowns, and he also threw an interception.

Troubling trend: The Bengals’ tackling this season has left much to be desired. That was apparent when CeeDee Lamb had 42.8 yards after catch over expectation on a quick throw that turned into a 43-yard gain. Coming into this week, Cincinnati allowed the third-most yards after contact in the league, according to ESPN Research. Despite swapping out starters and adjusting the rotation, that issue hasn’t been solved.

Eye-popping stat: Chase loves the national spotlight. He now has four straight 100-yard receiving games on “Monday Night Football,” becoming the first player to have 100 receiving yards in each of his first four career MNF games. Overall, Chase tied Randy Moss, Davante Adams and Cooper Kupp for the most 100-yard games in MNF history. The Bengals fed Chase throughout the game and helped him bolster an All-Pro case that is looking pretty strong. He finished with 177 yards on 14 catches and two TDs. Chase is also eyeing a Triple Crown — leading the league in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. Not too shabby for a guy looking to break the bank on his next contract.

Biggest hole in the game plan: Stopping Rico Dowdle. The fourth-year player hasn’t exactly torched defenses throughout his career. But the Bengals struggled to contain him. He averaged 7.3 yards per carry, which was a career high. It continued a trend of a shaky run defense for the Bengals this season. Coming into Monday night, Cincinnati ranked 30th in the league defensive rush success rate, per ESPN Research. — Ben Baby

Next game: at Titans (1 p.m. ET, Sunday)

The Cowboys might be down to a miracle if they are going to make the playoffs for a fourth straight season after a loss that defied believability.

With momentum on their side, the Cowboys were in position to put together a late game-winning drive until their special teams cost them again. Initially, the special teams almost gave the Cowboys a short field when Nick Vigil deflected a Ryan Rehkow punt, but Amani Oruwariye, who was called off injured reserve earlier in the day, attempted to field the ball and fumbled.

Three plays later, Burrow and Chase connected for a 40-yard touchdown with 1:01 to play.

At 5-8, the Cowboys almost assuredly have to win their last four games and will need help from teams that already own the head-to-head tiebreaker in the wild-card chase, like the San Francisco 49ers and Atlanta Falcons.

Of their losses this season, however, this might be most difficult to fathom.

But before the special teams’ mistake, the Cowboys can ponder red-zone woes that have been an issue all season with a second-quarter Cooper Rush interception at the Bengals 7 that kept Dallas from scoring points. And they were unable to consistently put drives together against a defense that had been allowing 28.3 points per game.

Defensively, the Cowboys finally relented after doing a solid job of keeping the high-powered Burrow-led offense out of the end zone until 1:01 was remaining.

Eye-popping stat: Lamb has made a number of big catches in his career, but only two this season have covered more distance than his 43-yard reception in the first quarter. According to Next Gen Stats, Lamb traveled 73.5 yards, running across the field after the Bengals initially snuffed out a bubble screen. Running back toward the Cowboys’ sideline, Lamb was able to get to the Cincinnati 24. Unfortunately for the Cowboys, the drive ended with a Rush interception.

Promising trend: The Cowboys did not have to wait long for their second 100-yard rusher of the season. Dowdle became the Cowboys’ first running back with consecutive 100-yard games since Tony Pollard in 2022, finishing with a career-high 131 yards on 18 carries. On Thanksgiving against the New York Giants, Dowdle had 112 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries, ending a franchise-long 25-game drought. In the third quarter Monday, Dowdle had a 27-yard run, the longest by the Cowboys this season. It was just the third carry of at least 20 yards by Dallas this season.

Troubling trend: The offensive line just can’t catch a break. Earlier Monday, Pro Bowl right guard Zack Martin was placed on injured reserve with pending season-ending ankle surgery on Thursday. In the second quarter, rookie center Cooper Beebe suffered a concussion. He came into Monday’s game having played all but one snap this season. The only offensive lineman to not miss time due to injury is right tackle Terence Steele. Rookie left tackle Tyler Guyton was active Monday but did not start because of ankle and knee injuries. — Todd Archer

Next game: at Panthers (1 p.m. ET, Sunday)